Connecticut College was founded as Connecticut College for Women after Wesleyan became exclusively all male. Connecticut College enjoys laying claim to this history. Although the college’s celebration of this past is justifiable to an extent, the women who had access to a Connecticut College education for much of its early history were relatively privileged wealthy white women from New England. Thus, although it is possible to laud sections of the college’s history, it is also very important to recognize its struggles with diversity. We must not fall prey to the college’s attempts to whitewash its history and absolve itself of complicity in reinforcing privilege.
Last spring, following the uproar in the student body over the college’s handling of issues of diversity and the scathing critiques launched at the administration, particularly the vagueness of “Inclusive Excellence,” the faculty adopted the goal of “Full Participation” through a resolution. What, however, does this goal mean in the context of the very different needs of different sections of the student body? It is especially important in this context to consider the needs of students who live especially far away from home.
Connecticut College likes to extol the financial and other resources it provides students who cannot afford its steep price tag. However, as the Harvard sociologist, Anthony Jack, who visited the campus a few weeks ago mentioned at a talk he presented called “I, Too, Am Hungry,” there are various forms of structural exclusion at elite colleges. These prevent a significant section of the student population from reaching its full potential. Most elite colleges do not recognize that to ameliorate prevailing inequity, we need to look more clearly at the various forms of deprivation that students face. Although I did not have the chance to go to Professor Jack’s talk, the issues he was exploring about the continued exclusion of students at elite institutions like Connecticut College seemed especially relevant to the issues I was concerned with in writing this piece.
The majority of the student body lives in relatively close proximity to their families. About three-fourths of Connecticut College students are from the Northeastern United States. Most of these students have access to parental support and can visit their homes over breaks. International students (who constitute about 5% of the college population) and domestic students from more distant parts of the United States (about a fifth of the student body) have a very different experience.
“It is the little things that make you feel that you are not welcome,” says an international junior who I spoke with about my article. “The college is structured around people who live close and have a car on campus,” she continued. She noted the stress at the end of each semester that accompanies arranging for student storage. This stress is compunded with the large amounts of school work which are then at their maximum.
Some international students are from especially far away and cannot return home during the winter. For the first two weeks of the winter, at the peak of winter, the college shuts down entirely. The dining halls are closed, and all students need to vacate their rooms. Those students who cannot return home are essentially left to their own devices. For the second half of the break, students who pay for room and board for this period can return. However, some students being already on financial aid cannot afford to leave school because they rely on on-campus jobs.
To find out more about what is being done to make the college environment inclusive for domestic students and international students who cannot return to their homes for the month long winter break, I visited Carmela Patton, Dean for Sophomores and International Students. Dean Patton has first-hand experience assisting international students in particular with their various needs. Knowing the challenges that students on campus face, Dean Patton is especially concerned with the planning and implementation of inclusive policies. She believes that “policies like Full Participation need to mean something,” on the ground, and in the daily lives of students at the college. She acknowledges the specific needs of international students and domestic students from distant locations within the United States, who need to be given equal access.
Over the last couple of years a space was made available for a limited number of international students to store their items over the summer. This past summer, because the space has become a fire hazard, it will no longer be available. Further, according to Dean Patton, the providing of this space to international students had the potential to spark controversy, “since it brings up issues of fairness.” This problem is especially acute when considering class differences among students, since some international students who can afford to pay the full tuition of the college may not be in as much need to access storage space as domestic students who need to rely on financial aid to attend the college.
Thanksgiving break is a period of particular concern, since the dining hall shuts down completely. OVCS had hosted a very warm and welcoming Thanksgiving dinner in years past for students on campus, which I was glad to attend last year, but does not have the resources for such a gathering this year. According to Dean Patton, members of the administration are aware of the necessity to provide a hospitable environment on campus during Thanksgiving and are planning various possible courses of action for students at the college.
Student protests last spring have brought forth a recognition, especially among sections of the administration, that all members of the college community need to be engaged more deeply, so that they can fully contribute to and participate in the life of the college. The danger, over time, of a gradual weakening of an understanding of student needs, and an inertia and general lack of policy to assist students, remains. In such an environment, the continuous vigilance of administration action is a necessity in order to bring about justice and equality for all the students of Connecticut College. •
